Oil well pump



J. R. HATFIELD Jan. 5, 1954 OIL WELL PUMP 2 Sheets-Sheet -1 l Filed Dec.29, 1949-.

` JNVENTOR.4 James R. Har'da? J. RDIA'FFIELD OL WELL PUMP Jan. 5, 1954 2Shee'ns-Shee'rl 2 Filed D90. 29, 1949 (Il .Pf-1T WHM. .R L d w /n mm JWHTTRNY Patented Jan. 5, 1954 UNrrEo FFICE OIL WELL PUMP James R.Hatfield, Bartlesville, Okla., assignor to Cities Service Oil Company,Bartlesville, Okla., a corporation of Delaware Application December 29,1949, Serial No. 135,678

' (Cl. 10S- 179) Voperating standpoint, that they be separated. In

general practice this is accomplished by shifting the pump up and downin the well together with the entire tubing string, and necessitatingthe replacement of the packing which separates the two oil producingzones. This is rather a dinicult operation, and cannot be accomplishedby the pumper with the tools ordinarily at his disposal.

It is an object of this invention to provide a pump which will permitthe pumper to shift from one producing Zone to another with a minimum oflabor and expense, operating with the tools which are normally at hisdisposal.

In order that those skilled in the art may further understand myinvention and the means for carrying it out, attention is drawn to theaccompanying drawings in which Fig. l is a sectional diagram of a stringof tubing with sucker rods and a pump in a well showing one form of myinvention in which the slide valve is in position for pumping from thelower producing zone,

Fig. 2 is a detailed sectional drawing of the slide valve assembly ofFig. l showing the slide valve in position for pumping from the upperzone,

Fig. 3 is a horizontal cross section viewed along line 3 3 of Fig. 2,

Fig. 4 is a sectional drawing of a second form of my invention showingthe slide valve in position for pumping from the upper producing zone, y

and

Fig. 5 illustrates the alternative form of my invention with the slidevalve in position for pumping from the lower zone.

As more particularly illustrated in Fig. l a string of tubing it isinserted in a well having an outside casing i l Motive power for pumpingthe well is illustrated in the drawing as a walking beam i2 havingattached to the end thereof a horsehead I3. A flexible cable ift isaffixed to the upper end of the horsehead i3 and is removably attachedto the upper portion of the sucker rod l5. It will be appreciated, ofcourse, that this type of motive power does not form a part of my 2,invention, and that any other arrangement for raising and lowering thesucker rod may be substituted.

The sucker rod l5 extends downward through a conventional packing (notshown) in the top of tubing l0 to a pump assembly i8, connected to thetubing Hl as by a collar i9, where it is attached to the top valve cage2!! of the pump. The top valve cage 20 contains a conventional ballvalve 2| or other form of check valve, whereby the downward flow of oilis prevented throughout the upward stroke of the pump. Attached to thetop cage 2t is a plunger 22 which fits closelyagainst a liner 23enclosed by a ,reinforcing jacket 24. These latter parts, 23 and 2e,perform but a single function, and may accordingly be formed separately,as shown, or as a single unitary structure. The lower portion oi theplunger 22 is provided with a lower plunger nut 25 forming a shoulderabout the inside periphery of the plunger 22. A garbutt rod 25 providedwith an upper flange 21 is positioned within the plunger 22 and isconnected at its lower end to a lower valve cage 28 which is alsoprovided with a conventional ball valve 29 or other form of check valveoperative to close the iiow passage 3) during the downward stroke of theplunger 22.

The bottom cage 28 is connected to a lock hold down mandrel 3| which isprovided with inwardly compressible fingers 32 which engage with a lockhold down shoe 33 attached to the jacket 24 having an inner annularshoulder 32 past which the iingers 32 may be forced, whereby to hold thelock hold down mandrel 3| in place.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the foregoing is adescription of a standard well pump in which the liner 23, reinforcingjacket 24 and lower valve cage 28 with its connected garbutt rod 2S formthe cylinder, while the assembly of the top Valve cage 2t, the valve 2|,and the plunger 22 constitute the piston.

An additional length of tubing it is attached to the lock hold down shoeand extends downward in the well for such distance as may be necessaryto extend from one producing zone to another, the well being packed withpacking l! of such type and character as to effectively seal oneproducing zone from the other. The tubing 40 is sealed at the bottomwith a plate 132, and is provided with upper zone ports i3 and lowerzone yports 44. As illustrated in the drawing, only one row of ports isshown for each producing zone; however, in practice probably severalstaggered rows of ports will be provided for each zone.

A hollow slide valve 45 is mounted in the tubing section 4t of suchdiameter that the lower portion thereof ts tightly against the tubing 4Sbut still not so tightly that it cannot be shifted in position withrelative ease. 'I'he upper portion of the slide valve d is of smallerdiameter than the lower portion thereof whereby to provide a shoulder itwhich may nt against stop di in the upper portion of the tubing 42, tolimit the upward movement of the valve 45, a further stop 43 beingprovided in the bottom of tubing il!) in oider to limit the downwardmovement of the slide valve t5. The total over-all length of the slidevalve 45 is such that when its lower portion is in contact with the stop48 its upper portion will be in contact with the lock hold down mandrelwhen the iingers 32 oi the mandrel 3i have been pushed past the shoulder34 of the lock hold down shoe 33. The lower portion of the slide valve dis provided with ports 49 so located that they will register with ports44 of the tubing 49 when the lower portion of the slide valve 45 is incontact with the stop 2.3. Upper ports 5t are also provided in the slidevalve i5 and are so located that they will register with ports 43 of thetubing 40 when the shoulder t6 of the slide valve is in contact with thestop El?. A coil spring 5i is compressibly placed between the bottomplate ld2 of the tubing it and the bottom portion 52 of the slide valve45 so as to exert an upward thrust upon the slide valve 45.

Referring to Fig. 1, the pump is shown in position for pumping from thelower sone, with lower tubing ports 44 in register with the lower valveports i9 and lower valve cage 28 seated in position to act as a standingvalve. The piston assembly, consisting of the plunger 22 and the uppervalve cage 2S and valve 2l, is then reciproca-ted by the sucker rod I5,actuated by the walking beam I2, and oil is pumped from the lower zone.

In case it is desired to switch production (see Fig. 2) from the lowerzone to the upper Zone the pumper will disconnect the sucker rod I5 fromthe cable I4 and will raise, with the tools commonly used to pull therod string, the sucker rod I5 with attached plunger 22 to a position atwhich the lower plunger nut 25 will make contact with the flange 2'? ofthe garbutt rod 26. The sucker rod i5 is then raised for an additionaldistance suincient to pull the fingers 32 of the mandrel 3 Iy past theshoulder 34 of the shoe 33 so that the mandrel will rest in the positionshown in Fig. 2. llihe coil spring 5I will then force the slide valve 45into engagement with the stop li? at which position the upper valveports 5@ will be in register with the upper tubing ports 43, so that oilmay flow from the upper producing Zone into the now passage Sii. Thedistance which the mandrel 3| will move in raising it from the position.shown in Fig. 1 to that shown in Fig. 2 will usually be 6 inches or moredepending upon the design of the mandrel 3l and shoe 33. The operatorwill then aX the iieXible cable i4 to the sucker rod I5 at a point belowthat at which it was afliXed when pumping from the lower zone and at adistance from the point of rst xation equivalent to the distance whichthe mandrel has been moved. The pump is then in adjustment for pumpingfrom the upper zone and pumping may be commenced.

When operating in shallow wells the force exerted by the resilientiingers 32 against the inner shoulder Sii, together with the forceexerted by the coil spring 5l is generally sufiicient to keep themandrel 3l in a position above the shoulder 34. However, in fairly deepwells the weight of the liquid column in the tubing mayT be such that itis suiiicient to force the iingers of the mandrel past the shoulder 34.In such a case an auxiliary standing valve is provided to take over thefunctions of lower valve cage 28, consisting of a cylindrical housing 53surrounding the tubing ports 43, attached to the tubing 4t andcontaining a. plurality of conventional ball valves 5:3. Upon thedownward stroke of the plunger 22 the ball valves 54 will be closed andwill maintain sufficient pressure in the iiow passage Sii to counteractthe pressure of the head of oil in the tubing It, and prevent forcing ofthe mandrel fingers past the shoulder 34.

If it is desired to shift production back to the lower zone, the pumperwill disconnect the sucker rod I5 from the walking beam l2, and lowerthe sucker rod, together with the top valve cage 20 and plunger 22 untilthe plunger nut 25 comes in contact with the top of valve cage 28. 'Byplacing the weight of the sucker rod string upon the valve cage 28, theresilient lingers 32 of lock hold down mandrel ilA may be easily forcedback over the shoulder 34 to hold the mandrel in the position shown inFig. 1. The lower portion of the iingers 32 pressing against the upperportion of the slide valve 45 willV then force the valve down againstthe stop 8, and bring lower tubing ports 44 and lower valve ports i2into register. The sucker rod string together with the piston assemblyis then raised to pumping position and reattached to the walking beamI2.

It is of note that since the operative parts of my invention are in noway xed to any of the moving parts of the pump, the pump valves andplunger may be withdrawn from the well for servicing and repair in theusual manner, without interference. Since the tubing and slide valvewhich embodies my invention is attached to the cylinder of thepump, asby a threaded or welded connection it may be brought to the surface forservicing and repair when the tubing is pulled for inspection of thepump liner 23.

It will be noted that in the form of my invention illustrated in Figs. land 2 the distance between the upper and lower valve ports is less thanthe distance between the upper and lower tubing ports. In thismodification the valve is in position for pumping from the lower Zonewhen its lower portion 52 is in Contact with the stop 48, and inposition for pumping from the upper zone when the shoulder 45 is invcontact with the stop 4i. Figures 4 and 5 show a modii'ied form of theinvention in which the distance between the upper and lower valve portsis greater than the distance between the upper and lower tubing ports.In this modification the valve is in position for pumping from the upperzone when its lower portion 52 is in contact with the stop 4t, and inposition for pumping from the lower zone when the shoulder 45 is incontact with the stop f1.7. lSince the fingers 32 of the mandrel 3! restagainst the top of the annular shoulder 34 when the valve is in positionfor pumping from the lower zone, the auxiliary valve housing 53 ispositioned to surround the lower tubing ports 44, in order to maintainsuiiicient pressure in the ow passage 30 to lower zone, whereas forcingthe fingers downwardly past the shoulder will shift production from thelower to the upper zone.

It will be apparent tothose skilled in the art that the major portion ofthe pump illustrated in the drawings is a conventional pump of the typeknown as a tubing liner pump, and that my invention resides in combiningwith this pump an 'additional section of tubing extending from oneproducing zone to another, having ports in each zone, -a slide valvemovable within the tubing and having ports capable of 'selectivelyregistering with either the upper or lower tubing ports, and means forselectively positioning the slide valve so that production may beshifted from one zone to the other easily and simply. It is ofparticular note that in `shifting from one producing zone to the otherthe tubing and pump remain in place, the shift from one zone to theother being accomplished merely by manipulation of the sucker rodstring, which the pumper may easily do with the aid of such tools as areordinarily at his disposal.

Having now described my invention, what is claimed as new and useful is:

l. An oil well pump assembly operative to selectively pump from twoproducing zones including in combination a hollow plunger operativelyconnected to a sucker rod string, a liner iitting about the plunger, ajacket enclosing the liner, a plunger nut forming an inner shoulderabout the interior circumference of the lower end of the plunger, agarbutt rod extending into the interior of the plunger, a flangeattached to the upper end of the garbutt rod adapted to engage with theplunger nut, a mandrel operatively connected to the lower end of thelgarbutt rod and provided with inwardly compressible fingers adapted toengage an inner shoulder of a lock shoe attached to the lower end of thejacket, a downwardly extending length of tubing attached to the lowerend of the lock shoe, the said tubing being closed at its lower end,upper and lower sets of parts in said tubing, a hollow slide valveenclosed within the tubing, upper and lower sets of ports in said valve,Ia spring compressibly inserted between the closed end of the tubing andthe slide valve exerting :an upward force upon the slide valve, the saidslide valve having an exterior diameter at its upper portion less thanthe exterior diameter at its lower portion forming a shoulder near theupper portion of the slide valve, a stop near the upper end of thetubing adapted to engage the said slidevalve shoulder, and so positionedthan when the said stop is in engagement with the said shoulder, one setof valve ports are in register with one set of tubing ports, a stop nearthe lower end of the tubing adapted to engage the bottom p0rtion of theslide valve, and `so positioned that when the said stop is in engagementwith the said bottom portion of the valve, the other set of valve portsare in register with the other 4set of tubing ports.

2. An oil well pump assembly including in coinbination a rod-operatedpump having a lower pump valve cage, a downwardly extending length oftubing :attached to the lower end of the pump, the 'said tubing having aclosed bottom 'and having lower and upper sets of ports, a slide valvecontained within the said tubing and movable lengthwise therein, andhaving upper and lower sets of ports spaced apart at a distance unequalto the distance between the upper and lower tubing ports, the said lowerpump valve cage being movable relative to said tubing and operativelyconnected with said slide valve and in uid communication therewith,spring means compressibly inserted between the tubing bottom and theslide valve, and a rod string extending to the ground surface andoperatively connected with the lower pump valve cage whereby a verticalmovement of the rod may be communie-ated to the said valve cage and itsassociated slide valve to move the said valve cage and slide valverelative to the tubing to cause the slide valve ports to shift fromcommunication with one set of tubing ports to the other.

3. An oil well pump assembly including in combination a rod-operatedpump having a lower pump valve cage, a downwardly extending length oftubing attached to the lower end of the pump, upper and lower sets ofports in the tubing, a slide valve container within the said tubingmovable lengthwise therein and having upper and lower sets of portsspaced apart at a distance unequal to the distance between the upper andlower tubing ports, the said lower pump valve cage being movablerelative to the said tubing and operatively connected with lsaid slidevalve and in fluid communication therewith, a rod string extending tothe ground surface and operatively connected with the lower pump valvecage whereby a vertical movement of the rod may be communicated to thesaid valve cage and its associated slide valve to move the said valvecage and slide valve relative to the tubing to cause the slide valveports to shift from communication with one set of tubing ports to theother, and a v-alve housing enclosing the tubing ports which are incommunication with the slide valve ports when the slide valve is inupper position, the said valve housing having a check valve therein.

4. An oil well pump assembly including in combination a rod operatedpump having an upper valve cage and a lower valve cage, a tubingextension attached to the lower end of the pump, the said lower valvecage being movable longitudinally relative to the said tubing extension,lower and upper ports in the tubing extension, a hollow slide valvecontained within the tubing extension and having upper and lower portsspaced apart at a distance unequal to the distance between the upper andlower tubing ports, the lower valve ports being capable of registeringwith the lower tubing ports, and the upper valve ports being capable ofregistering with the upper tubing ports, the said slide valve beingoperatively connected with the said lower valve cage and being in fluidcommunication therewith.

5. An oil well pump assembly including in combination a rod-operatedpump having an upper valve cage and a lower valve cage, a tubingextension attached to the lower end of the pump, the said lower valvecage being movable longitudinally relative to the said tubing extension,lower and upper sets of ports in the tubing extension, a hollow slidevalve contained within the said tubing extension, the said slide valvebeing operably connected with the lower valve cage and in fluidcommunication therewith, ports in the said slide valve, the said portsbeing capable of selectively communicating with the upper or lower portsin the tubing extension, and a rod extending to the ground surface andoperatively connected with the said lower valve cage whereby a verticalmovement of the rod will be communicated to the said lower valve cageand its associated slide valve to move the said valve cage and slidevalve relative to the tubing extension whereby to' cause theisaid slidevalve ports to shif-tfrom communication with` one set of tubing po-rtsfto the'ot'hei;

6. Anoil well production :assembly including in combination packingmeans adapted to be set in a Well', between an upper and av lowerproducing well stratumv so as to separate the well into an upper wellzone communicating with said upper stratum and a lowerV well zonecommunicating with said lower well stratum, productiontubing passingthrough said packing means, upper and lower-sets of ports in saidproduction tubing communicating. respectively with said. upper and lowerZones, a rod-operated pump assembly inter.- posedin theproductiontubing, the said pump assemblyhaving anY upper valve cage and a lowervalve cage, the said lower valve cage beingmovable longitudinally of theproduction tubing,A a hollow slide valve contained within. the produc'-tion tubing below the said lower valve cage', the upper end of saidslide valve being operably connected with said lower valve cage and influid communication therewith, ports in the said slide Valve, the saidports being capable of selectively communicating withthe upper or lowerports in the'production tubing, and a rod extending to the groundsurface and: operatively connected with the said.- lower Valve cagewhereby a Vertical movement of thev rod will be communicated to the saidValve cage and its associated slide valve to movethc said valve cageand` sli-de valve relative to the production tubing to cause the slidevalve ports to shift from communication with one set of tubing ports tothe other.

JAMES R. HATFIELD.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITEDv STATES PATENTS Number

